Luxury fashion company Balenciaga issued an apology Tuesday for their recent ad campaign, which used pictures sexualizing children as they posed with teddy bears wearing bondage uniforms.
One of the pictures included a U.S. Supreme Court case, U.S. v. Williams, which criminalized child pornography. The portion shown in the picture cites another Supreme Court case, Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, which made virtual child porn protected speech.
The company has been accused of “normalizing child pornography” by many.
“They are trying to chum up attention by incorporating a Supreme Court child porn pandering case as window dressing,” National Center on Sexual Exploitation general counsel Benjamin Bull said. “It’s connecting child porn with their product.”
The company faced significant backlash, resulting in them removing the pictures and issuing an apology. They have also begun legal action “against the parties responsible for creating the set.”
“We apologize for displaying unsettling documents in our campaign,” the company posted to Instagram.
Update: Balenciaga has now publicly apologized and is “taking legal action” against the creator of their disturbing ad campaign featuring children with teddy bears in bondage gear alongside court documents about the legalization of virtual child sexual abuse. pic.twitter.com/e9IEDYoMne
— Laila Mickelwait (@LailaMickelwait) November 23, 2022
The company says some of the items displayed in the pictures were “unapproved” and that they “strongly condemn abuse of children in any form.”
“We stand for children safety and well-being,” they continued. “We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign.”
the brand "Balenciaga" just did a uh….. interesting… photoshoot for their new products recently which included a very purposely poorly hidden court document about 'virtual child porn'
normal stuff pic.twitter.com/zjMN5WhZ0s
— shoe (@shoe0nhead) November 21, 2022
“This is not about them being provocative and getting attention,” Concerned Women for America CEO Penny Nance told Fox News. “The entire campaign sexualizes children, period. It is child exploitation, period. And it feeds and normalizes a culture that is dark and depraved.”
Nicole Kidman is featured in Balenciaga’s spring 2023 collection, while Kim Kardashian and Bella Hadid have been brand ambassadors.
Breccan F. Thies is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @BreccanFThies.
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